Photojournalism appeals to VISION to give VOICE to the defenseless and build connections between strangers

Crimea: Putin’s Dream Island

Crimea became part of Ukraine in 1954, when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred peninsula from Russia to Ukraine, then both Soviet republics. It became synonymous with the Soviet good life, a summer playground on the shores of the Black Sea.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, the peninsula remained part of Ukraine. Sevastopol stayed home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, its premises secured from Ukraine under a long-term rent agreement.

I documented life in Crimea before, during and after the Kremlin retook the peninsula in 2014.